Greetings.

[Xodric]

Hello,

I've been getting my first tattoo over the course of the last year, probably another few months left before it'll be finished. I've wanted a tattoo for a long time but never had the time for it. I have psoriasis and finding a tattoo artist who's willing to work with that wasn't easy. After each session there would be a period after the healing time that my body was at risk of forming new patches over the scarred skin. This happened after the outlining was done.

Initial outline:

Winter in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is not your friend. At the time my tattoo was healing it was declared that it was colder in Winnipeg than it was on the planet Mars. The cold cracks the skin, and with someone who has psoriasis... this is even worst. So my back formed quiet a few small patches because of the trama to the skin. I had never had any patches on my back before. Once the outline had healed, I had to apply my steroid cream to my patches all the way until late summer before I could book a follow up session.

My tattoo artist went with the left side of my back because the middle and the right side had patches still, you can see them in the above picture. They're the red looking patches around the triangle.

After that session I figured it'd be another six months before I could get more work done, but by now my wife was on board with helping me apply cream to my back multiple times a day. I didn't tell my wife I was getting the tattoo. I knew if I had told her she would of talked me out of it. She wasn't happy and I was in the dog house for quiet a while. We still don't talk about it for long because it gets her upset. That being said she will help me with applying the cream, which really helps because it keeps the psoriasis from getting as bad. After this session I didn't have any new patches develop.

The third session was a lot, and very painful. My tattoo artist said it's because all the nerves around the spin and the fact that I don't have a lot of fat / muscle around the bony areas.

He worked around the patches that were still there. You can see them more clearly in this photo.

It was just recently that I got the last session done, finally the color. I'm very pleased with it and can't wait until it's all done. He told me we'll do one more session. The beam coming into the triangle is going to have white fading done. He's also going to touch up spots where my patches have gone away.

The doting you see near the top of the eagles head was where my tattoo artist made marks for himself to note where patches were at. It's not apart of the tattoo.

There was only one thing I wanted to change about the tattoo after I saw the coloring, and that was just to add a few feather protrusions to the orange.

I've already been talking about getting another few tattoos done, but nothing as large. After I get on with the Police here I want to get a thin blue line around my left upper arm. I want the japanese kanji for Gojira going down the bicep on my right arm. No rush on those.

All in all I am very happy I found a tattoo artist who is willing to be patient with me and my skin. I wanted to join a tattoo community online where I could talk about my experience and join in on others experiences with tattoos. I look forward to making new friends here. Thanks for allowing me to join.

[Marie Thompson]

Hello! Beautiful work being done! I am sorry to hear about your psoriasis and I think it is awesome you have a tattooer willing to work with you. My doctor tried to talk me out of further tattoos and I told him that wasn't going to happen. I have some autoimmune issues, too, and the doc was saying my body could reject the ink. I told him it hasn't happened yet and I have had tattoos on me for 18 years.

Btw Godzilla fan? I haven't seen the kanji for it. Does the steroid cream lighten or thin your skin or the tattoo's ink? I was curious if steriod injections would work for you. I have had to use the creams, too. This year my autoimmune pains and skin flare ups have been minimal. I am a vegan that eats healthy, avoids processed foods, and anything artificial. My doc did mention dairy and gluten can cause autoimmune flares or allergies, too. I wish you luck with your tattoo completion and your autoimmune issues.

[Xodric]

Thank you for your kind words Marie Thompson.

What I noticed about my patches that would show up in an area already with ink on them is that it would fade the color in that spot. This only occurred a few times and my tattoo artist had no problem touching them up. It was something we discussed prior to any ink being applied. I was always forward and open with my condition with him. The cream I use is a white topical cream called Betaderm. I've asked my Doctor to recommend a Dermatologist to seek other types of treatment because I am not happy with the results of creams for the last 17 years. They don't do anything for me besides relieve the itching and they hide the patches when I wear t-shirts or shorts ( they appear as red spots vs white spots, so they're less noticeable and people stare less ). I want to see if UV light treatment ( kind of light sun tanning ) would help, but I am worried about if it would fade my tattoo. Within the last few years there is are shots that I can take, but they are for more extreme cases and are costly, even in Canada.

The cream didn't seem to have a noticeable effect on my tattoo, but than again it's my first. I am not sure how it should actually look after it's fully healed. Should the black still be super rich? Since it's on my back I can only see it in a mirror. I don't spread my cream all over my tattoo, I just apply it to my patches.

As far as eatting goes, I eat what ever I want. I never looked into foods that would cause my condition to flare up.

I'm a big Godzilla fan. I have many original Godzilla posters from Japan and I think the kanji for Godzilla looks pretty sweet. So it's not like you can mess up how it looks with so many examples to reference.

Here it is in blue, I would want it a dark green with a black bordering, make it really bold. To be honest I am not in a rush for my other tattoo ideas because I would really like to go to Japan at some time. I hear that they are very strict on no tattoos at beaches, swim parks and hot springs. I would like to go to those types of places. My back tattoo isn't exactly easily covered unless I wear a shirt.

[SStu]

nice dedication. welcome!